Roses 1910

Lovis Corinth made this painting, called Roses, with oil paint on canvas. It’s an explosion of colors and brushstrokes that feel almost feverish. I can almost feel the urgency in Corinth's gestures, the way he loaded his brush with thick daubs of paint, slashing and swirling them across the canvas. Look at the reds, pinks, and yellows of the roses against the dark background. You know? I bet he worked fast, capturing the fleeting beauty of those blooms before they faded. I am so moved by the way Corinth manages to find a kind of raw beauty in the decay. There’s something almost confrontational about it. Like, how do you hold onto beauty, even as it slips through your fingers? It reminds me that painters are always in conversation with one another. We make paintings as a way to answer questions that other painters have posed, to push the conversation in new directions, and to keep the possibilities of painting alive.